About this tag
The o/s tag on WindowsForum.com covers discussions about operating system installation, activation, and troubleshooting. Common topics include Windows product key serials and how they work across multiple machines or after hardware failures, boot manager errors when reinstalling an OS after a hard drive crash, and installation failures such as the 'cannot open c:\recovery.dat' error during Windows 7 setup. Users share experiences with recovery partitions, dual-boot configurations, and reinstalling Windows on different drives. The tag focuses on practical issues with OS setup and recovery rather than general operating system theory.
  1. abrogard

    How Does The Serials Thing Work?

    I've never understood how the Serials thing works. And I've had all kinds of hassles with it over the years with different O/S's and upgrades and second hand machines and broken machine needing repair and reinstalls and whatever... Is there a clear outline of it somewhere? Say I have a...
    • abrogard
    • Thread
    • activation clear knowledge guidelines home use installation license licensing machine microsoft mobo o/s reinstall repair second hand serial system crash tech support upgrade user experience windows
    • Replies: 12
    • Forum: Windows Security
  2. N

    Windows 7 Windows boot manager error when using Boot Disk

    At some point this morning, it seems one of my hard drives crashed, and with that went my O/S since it was installed on one of the partitions of that drive. Fine. All works out, I just reinstall windows. Wrong. When I put in the boot disk, I have a few problems. This first one, when I am in...
    • NarumiKenshin
    • Thread
    • boot boot drive boot issues drive crash error formatting hard drive hardware issues installation manager o/s partition recovery repair software changes status code system error troubleshooting windows windows 7
    • Replies: 1
    • Forum: Windows Help and Support
  3. G

    Windows 7 Windows 7 installation is so frustrating

    I have tried to install windows 7 four times today but every time it does the last restart and says preparing for first use or what ever that message says, I get the ERROR in red writing and it's say's that is can not open c:\recovery.dat. I originally had a hidden recovery partition, a C: &...
    • Garetht
    • Thread
    • asus boot issues computer help dual boot error hard drive installation o/s partition recovery recovery partition restart setup issues software support technology troubleshooting user experience windows 7 windows vista
    • Replies: 1
    • Forum: Windows Help and Support